Since 1983, when the policy was relaxed, especially after the Market was greatly renovated and expanded with many new storefronts, he picked a space of about ten square ters and rented it for ten yuan a month. He divided the shop into two areas: one side sold condints, pickles, wine, fruits, and the other side sold vegetables.
Every morning, when he ca from ho, he would bring a box of breakfast—sotis stead buns, sotis various desserts and shortbread, and sotis sticky bean buns from the Northeast. He only sold one box, until it was gone, because he had to wake up at two or three in the morning to start preparing, and one person couldn’t make much, so there was always a limited supply.
Thankfully, everyone was very supportive, and since he wasn’t primarily in the food service business, they all understood.
Previously, he used to sell the vegetables and leave, but now with a storefront, he prepared just a bit more vegetables than before, and much more of other things like condints and pickles—basically, everything he had at ho, he’d bring over.
After having the storefront, the biggest trouble was tying him down, as the Market was generally empty in the afternoon, so he would close around one in the afternoon and go ho to rest. After resting for two or three hours, he would have to get up and go to the field to prepare the vegetables, ensuring they were ready for the next day.
The greatest advantage of having a storefront was the sense of security it provided when strong wind or rain hit during vegetable sales.
With the storefront, he began coming early in the morning with his daughter to sell vegetables. Every day, they only sold the vegetables they brought from ho in a tricycle. During restocking, they would display the specially cultivated vegetables prepared in the "space", which were often off-season and rare. These vegetables were priced two or three tis higher than his own, affordable to few, so he didn’t display many.
Initially, there were complaints about the high prices of these vegetables, even reports to the Market regulatory authorities. He explained that these were specially cultivated off-season vegetables and had required a lot of effort, but they didn’t care and fined him a month’s rent. Since then, he seldom sold these "space" vegetables.
However, those who had complained were not happy again, saying the vegetables tasted good and asking why he didn’t sell them at regular prices.
He chuckled, "When the sale price of the vegetables, which I put my heart into cultivating, doesn’t even cover the costs, do you think I will continue to grow them?"
That custor was left speechless and stord off, but there were also understanding custors who requested to buy. Yet, these couldn’t be openly displayed on the shelves; they had to be neatly tucked in a corner. If soone needed them, they could pick and weigh them and then calculate the price.
Surprisingly, he had quite a few returning custors, all of whom were well-off. He was well-aware of the quality of his vegetables, noting that long-term consumption of vegetables from the "space" led to internal changes. However, he could not openly discuss these changes, so he left it to the custors to experience on their own.
But expecting to buy his "space" vegetables at regular prices was practically impossible. Later, he kept a notebook for custors to make reservations. This way, he only had to prepare the amount reserved each day, which spared him a lot of trouble. He could almost always et the custors’ demands. If ever he could not produce due to lower "Levels", he could temporarily cancel the reservation until the conditions were right again.
After opening the storefront, with the extended duration of operation, his monthly inco had reached seventy to eighty yuan, which was considered high inco for that era. Of course, the vegetables and fruits from the "space" were of imnse "rit".
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